Every company, of every size, in every corner of the globe collaborates on one level or another. At one end of the spectrum lies tactical communication and coordination between people, teams, partners and customers. However, the other end of the spectrum is reserved for those who have established the tools, process and culture, and optimized their environment for Collaboration - those who are Collaborating with a "big C". White paper by Bill Haskins, Senior Analyst at Wainhouse Research.

1. May 2014
Collaboration with a Capital C
An Overview of SMART Technologies’ Collaboration
Leadership Summit
This paper
sponsored by

2. Executive Summary
Every company, of every size, in every corner of the globe collaborates on one level or another. At one
end of the spectrum lies tactical communication and coordination between people, teams, partners
and customers. However, the other end of the spectrum is reserved for those who have established the
tools, process and culture, and optimized their environment for Collaboration – those who are
Collaborating with a “big C”.
As an industry, we've spent the last 10 years focusing on the technology side of the Collaboration
discussion. This is not surprising, as we've experienced a tsunami of new solutions that promise to bring
virtual teams together, increase productivity, and drive results. The focus during this time has been on
the tactical benefits of Collaboration solutions, with success defined through volume-based metrics and
cost savings analysis. The best-in-class Collaborators, however, are actively shifting their focus, placing a
greater emphasis on the way end-users naturally collaborate, and fostering the evolution of
Collaboration from a tactical point-solution to a broad concept of how work gets done.
This paper is the first in a series of publications that explore the insights gathered from the SMART
Technologies Collaboration Council. Each of the upcoming papers in this series will dive deep into key
findings, providing the Council’s thoughts, opinions, and best practices.

3. Overview
In Late February 2014, SMART Technologies assembled an elite group of Collaboration experts from a range
of the world’s most successful companies with a single mission: discuss Collaboration (with a big C) in the
enterprise – what is working, what is challenging, and where is Collaboration heading?
Over the course of two days, this group of professionals had the opportunity to share best practices, insights,
challenges and innovations. Wainhouse Research was invited to participate, providing a view of Collabora-
tion through an Analyst’s lens and with a mission to document the key themes resulting from this summit.
The Groundwork
In the months leading up to the summit, SMART Technologies conducted an independent study to better
understand the current state of Collaboration in today’s enterprise and the benefits and impacts associated
with good and bad Collaboration. This study gathered feedback from over 1500 participants from around
the world, creating a massive database on Collaboration practices and outcomes.
The results of the survey show that each enterprise falls into one of 5 stages of Collaboration Maturity:
1. Unsupported – There is no collaboration strategy in place and these organizations have little
technology available to support team work.
2. Not Integrated – These organizations are experimenting with technology, but do not have a
collaboration strategy. They’re implementing technology for which there's little integration
between other systems and business processes.
3. Integrated – These organizations believe in collaboration, so they implement solutions that integrate
hardware, software and other systems. However, these collaboration environments are not available
to everyone and collaborative processes have not been well-defined.
4. Collaborative – Collaboration is enhanced by the power of technology, process and people. Teams
are enabled to collaborate effectively. However, the culture of the organization has not yet shifted
to fully embrace collaboration across all areas.
5. Optimized – These organizations have transformed the way they work with a complete
implementation of solutions, services and processes. They have created a range of informal,
structured, formal and dispersed collaboration environments to optimize the value received from
collaboration.
This survey data provides a key observation into the general state of Collaboration:
The majority of organizations are early in the maturity
spectrum, with little to no support or integration
across their collaborative solutions.

4. Figure 1
The Collaboration Maturity Spectrum
Source: Source: SMART Technologies 2013 Collaboration Survey
In addition, each participant was asked to quantify the per-
ceived value their Collaboration environment has on vari-
ous aspects of their operations - everything from travel
cost reduction to customer experience, innovation to risk
reduction. The results provide an important insight into
the benefits that are associated with great
Collaboration:
Those organizations that combine
technology, services and best
practices are achieving incremental
value across a range of business
outcomes.
Interestingly, travel costs - the concrete original pillar of
most Collaboration business cases - received the lowest
incremental values, while more subjective benefits relat-
ing to efficiencies received the highest, illustrating that,
today, speed carries more weight than cost, a hallmark
sign that Collaboration has turned the corner from a
hardware-centered plug-in and is becoming a more
complex culture-centric initiative.
Figure 2
Value from Advanced Collaboration
Source: SMART Technologies 2013 Collaboration Survey
5.3x
3.1x
2.3x
2.2x
2.0x
1.9x
1.8x
1.7x
1.6x
1.6x
Risk reduction
Accelerated rate of innovation
Faster and more informed
decision making
Meeting productivity
Enhanced customer experience
Training productivity
Increased individual productivity
Reduced environmental impact
Improved information quality
Reduced travel costs

5. 2014 Wainhouse Research, LLC
The Panelists
Summit participants were hand-chosen based on their company’s track record as expert Collaborators,
and care was taken to bring a diverse group of big thinkers together. The resulting council represented
companies from the very small to the very large, across industry verticals, and across geographies.
Figure 3
Council Participants
It is important to note that each panelist completed the same Collaboration assessment administered in
the study, and, as a group, were shown to over-index on Collaboration Strategy, outscoring the top
perform- ance cluster from the original sample by 10%, and were also 50% higher than the database
average. For this reason, the panelists’ views on what it takes to Collaborate well and the related
challenges in front of great Collaboration are especially pertinent.
Key Observations
When discussing a topic as big as Collaboration with a capital C, it is critical to establish a baseline under-
standing of what Collaboration really entails. To this end, Dr. Renate Fruchter, Director of Stanford’s Project
Based Learning Laboratory offered this salient point: we must understand the fundamental differences be-
tween communication, coordination and Collaboration:
 Communication – a one way delivery of information
 Coordination – communication intended to drive an outcome
 Collaboration – a group of people working together to create something of value
In fact, it is not uncommon for an enterprise to confuse communication and coordination with Collabora-
tion, expecting that the flurry of information being exchanged must be driving business value. However,
the largest business value is consistently driven by those organizations that understand and reinforce
effective Collaboration.

6. 2014 Wainhouse Research, LLC
“Collaboration”
has become
synonymous with
“work.” We
measure our pro-
ductivity by the
number of meet-
ings we have,
not by outcomes.
So what does it take to become a Collaborative enterprise? The council es-
tablished early on that it is not as simple as deploying the best technologies.
On the contrary, many of the key observations are technology-independent,
and transcend verticals, geographies, and company size.
Culture is key – An enterprise’s culture was pointed to repeatedly as the pri-
mary factor behind positive, negative, and nascent Collaboration. The most
successful collaborative enterprises start by establishing a highly collaborative
culture, one that reinforces the importance of free-flowing information, rewards
collaborative behavior, and places a key focus on the end user. Strong lead-
ership is perhaps the most important factor in establishing a collaborative cul-
ture.
Empathy is required – Those organizations who are succeeding often point to
empathy as a key element within their culture – empathy between IT teams
and end users, empathy between executives and employees, and empathy
between the business and its customers. As empathy grows in practice, a level of trust grows within the or-
ganization. And once a level of trust has been established, the organization can truly become Collabora-
tive with a big C.
Success criteria is shifting – Many are changing the way they define successful Collaboration – shifting from
counting transactions to monitoring for specific business outcome. A number of Council members noted
they view their company’s profitability as the key variable to monitor in terms of Collaboration success,
which is very different from counting audio conferencing minutes, or IM transactions.
IT is hard-pressed to “keep up” – The fundamental technologies supporting enterprise Collaboration are in-
creasingly “software-based”, enabling an explosion of new solutions and allowing all solutions to iterate
faster and faster. At the same time, users are more advanced than ever, bringing both devices and appli-
cations into the workplace. These factors combine to create a perfect storm for many IT teams who find it
harder and harder to meet – much less anticipate – their users’ needs.
Strategic gaps are common – As shown in the SMART survey, most enterprises lack a cohesive strategy around
Collaboration. While many companies focus on collaborative technologies, creating extensive roadmaps
around their Collaboration infrastructure, it is rare for an enterprise to combine technology, ser- vices, and
culture elements into an organized strategy.
As a result, a proliferation of technology often drives volumes and volumes of Collaboration. However, a
key message delivered by the Collaboration Council: more Collaboration has no direct correlation to bet-
ter Collaboration. In fact, more Collaboration can become noise, actually reducing a company’s overall
productivity.
Collaboration Fatigue is common – Today’s average end user has access to a great array of
communication tools. From text-based email and instant messaging, to audio and video
conferencing, to advanced interactive display technologies, there are very few barriers restricting a
constant stream of information and interaction. A common side effect stemming from this proliferation
of technology is Collaboration Fatigue. This fatigue can be felt across the enterprise, but hits the end user
hardest. Examples of this fatigue include:
– Volume Fatigue – It appears that many end users have a love/hate relationship with the volume of
information they are receiving, usually pointing to more tactical solutions like email, instant messaging
and audio conferencing as the primary culprits. Oddly enough, it is not uncommon for a user voice the
benefits of a given technology in the same breath as their frustrations.

7. 2014 Wainhouse Research, LLC
– Technology Fatigue – When technology becomes an obstacle, the end user suffers. Ask these ques-
tions: How complicated is your collaboration environment? What services require special training?
What tools require unique scheduling or support processes? Are there tools that cause frequent
delays for the end user? The more the user needs to think, plan or do in order to use a given
collaboration technology, the less time they spend actually collaborating!
– Workflow Fatigue – To compound the issue, new technologies have a tendency to require unique
workflows. Most users consider themselves scheduling masters when it comes to pulling together a
group audio conference: “I know how to schedule people, what audio bridge information to add,
and I’m comfortable starting, joining, and managing my audio conference.” However, add a
video room to the mix and things can get complicated quickly: “Do I need to schedule the room
differently? Do I schedule a video bridge? Do I schedule support? How do I start the video call?
What if I have audio-only participants?” The more a collaborative solution deviates from a known
workflow, the greater the burden on the end user just to engage the technology. As a result, those
solutions are used less frequently and experience more issues.

8. 2014 Wainhouse Research, LLC
About SMART, the sponsor of this paper
SMART Technologies Inc. is a leading provider of technology
solutions that enable inspired collaboration in schools and
workplaces around the world by turning group work into a highly
interactive, engaging and productive experience. SMART delivers
integrated solutions of hardware, software and services designed
for superior performance and ease of use, and remains a world
leader in interactive displays.
About Wainhouse Research
Wainhouse Research, www.wainhouse.com, is an independent ana-
lyst firm that focuses on critical issues in the Unified Communications
and Collaboration (UC&C). The company conducts multi-client and
custom research studies, consults with end users on key implementa-
tion issues, publishes white papers and market statistics, and delivers
public and private seminars as well as speaker presentations at industry group meetings.
About the Author
Bill Haskins is a Senior Analyst at Wainhouse Research with a strategic focus on
unified communications products and services. Bill has over 15 years of experience
supporting, delivering, and designing converged Collaboration services in a global
communications environment. He has authored multiple white papers and articles
detailing the keys to a successful UCC implementation and delivered various UCC
presentations, highlighting his experience integrating Collaboration solutions into
business process and enterprise applications. He can be reached at
bhaskins@wainhouse.com.

9. 2014 Wainhouse Research, LLC
www.wainhouse.com
This paper is authored by Wainhouse Research and sponsored by SMART Technologies.